Environmental Benefits

The simplest definition of sustainable development is that it “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  In the United States, the production and manufacture of building components, and the construction process itself, involves the extraction and movement of 6 billion tons of basic materials annually.  The construction industry consumes 40% of extracted materials domestically and some estimates suggest that as much as 90% of all materials ever extracted reside in today’s buildings and infrastructure.  And construction waste is generated at the rate of 0.5 tons per person each year in the U.S., or about 5 to 10 pounds per square foot of new construction.  Most of today’s building materials and practices are simply not sustainable.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) commercial green building rating systems have vastly accelerated ‘green’ growth in the commercial market. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there is now more than 1 billion square feet of registered LEED construction in progress. And, new LEED rating systems for residential homes and schools are now being implemented. The LEED systems, combined with new advocacy from the National Association of Homebuilders and other construction rating systems, will push the market for sustainable ‘green’ construction even further ahead.

GigaCrete’s materials are different – offering contractors and project owners new opportunities to build strong, build forward – and build green.  GigaCrete’s products offer low VOC emissions, fire resistance, mildew/mold/insect resistance, reduced CO2 emissions. While our products achieve extreme building performance, they are also sustainable and environmentally sensitive.  GigaCrete’s process integrates environmental considerations into product and process engineering procedures, sometimes called Design for the Environment (DfE).

• Environmental benefits of GigaCrete materials:

• Low VOC Emissions: GigaCrete’s PlasterMax products exceed EPA, State of California, and CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) standards for VOC emissions and indoor air quality.
• Nontoxic: All GigaCrete products are manufactured with nontoxic materials.
• Recycled Aggregate: PlasterMax products and two of the Company’s future products (GigaCrete Panels and StuccoMax) contain recycled waste materials, including specific types of ash from coal-fired power plants. In the case of GigaCrete Panels, these products will comprise between 70% and 80% recycled ash (by volume) of the overall finished product – making the “extraction burden” of our filler materials (also known as the ecological rucksack) more environmentally favorable for GigaCrete products.
• Silica Free: GigaCrete products contain no silica sand, eliminating the potential risk of human exposure to silica dust.
• Different CO2 Profile: Kilns that calcine the mineral-based cement utilized in GigaCrete’s products run at a lower temperature than kilns producing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). During the setting and hardening of the mineral cement, a process called carbonation reabsorbs some CO2 from the atmosphere. GigaCrete has a carbon footprint of 480 versus Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 930, a significant reduction.
• Low Water Use: GigaCrete products require less water than most conventional OPC building materials.
• Nonflammable: GigaCrete products will not support flame or fire, thereby reducing the potential for harmful or toxic off-gases associated with structure fires.